A Junior that
was all Hasegawa Jun
was. Day after day, week turned into weeks, and Jun continued to be a Junior.
When he was young he dreamed of being a star. Now, he realized that he would
never be a star. He would always simply be a Junior. A Junior that was fast
outgrowing his good looks.

The Four Tops
that was what they had called the group. It had given Jun hope that they would
debut. They led the Juniors, but that was all. Then the day came when YamaP had
debuted with NEWS. That was when he realized that the Four Tops was the end of
the road. That they had as much chance to debut as Music Academy did.

Jun was lying on
his bed feeling sorry for himself. He looked at the saying that he had pined on
his wall. "Enjoy your time with the Juniors." It was written by his
best friend Shunsuke Kazama, called Kaza by everyone. It was a reminder to not
be sad about the prospect of never debuting. Instead, be grateful.

He
glanced at the bed on the other side of the room. It belonged to his friend
Kaza. He too was a Junior. Jun had never quite understood why Kaza hadn't
debuted. He had the dancing and singing abilities. The wonderful winning smile.
Jun knew that given the chance, Kaza would be a big star. If only he could
debut. But management had always passed Kaza over. It never seemed to matter to
his friend. He seemed to be very happy only being a junior.

Kaza
was another problem in Jun's life. He wasn't sure when it happened, but his
heart got that doki doki feeling every time Kaza got close to him. Jun had
fallen for his best friend. He knew that soon, he would have to move out, that
it was the only way to save their friendship.

He
heard the door open, then his roommate Kaza came into the room. He shut the
door. "Sorry it took so long to get back."

"Your
team won again." he looked up to the ceiling.† As on cue, his stomach growled. The agency
had rules. One was if an artist was involved with a food show, they couldn't
eat that day. Even if the person lost and they didn't get to taste the food.
Jun had gone five days without eating.

"It's
five losses in a row isnít it?" Kaza's voice was very soft.

"Yeah,
it is."

Jun
could hear the sound of a drawer opening. Then the sound of Kaza rustling
around in the drawer. †"My mother
sent me a care package. I hid some of it. It's just some brownies and
cookies."

"Go
ahead, eat." He looked at the wall.

He
felt Kaza sit beside him on the bed. "Jun-chan, there's enough for both of
us."

"What
if we got caught?" Jun looked at him.

"We
won't," Kaza smiled that smile that Jun loved. "Trust me."

Jun
sat up; he took the brownie that Kaza had offered. He took a bite. "This
is good."

"You
should taste my mom's cookies." Kaza took a cookie from the package; he
held it out to Jun who took a bite. There eyes met and Kaza smiled again.

†Jun could hear his heart thumping as he
offered his brownie to Kaza. His friend took a bite. Then Kaza broke a piece of
cookie off, and held it out. Using his mouth, Jun took it. He felt his
midsection tightening as they shared food.

Kaza
had a bit of brownie on his chin. It seemed the most natural thing in the world
for Jun to lean forwards and using his lips, take the morsel off. He wanted to
kiss Kaza, but reminded himself that he was only a friend.

"How
can I not love you?" Jun reached out, touching Kaza's cheek. Then he bent
down and kissed his friend. He could feel Kaza stand very still for a moment in
shock, and then he sighed, and kissed Jun back.